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Cats, Step by step, Techniques, Tuition, Wildlife

Book now for new workshop dates!

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New dates for June workshops

New dates for pastel workshops in June 2017  have been added.

1 day Scottish Wildcat in pastel –
Monday 19th June

Scottish Wildcat pastel workshops
Scottish wildcat 1 day workshop in pastel

This is a great little piece to get started on if you are new to velour and everything is provided to take you step by step through working on velour.

2 day Chinese Leopard in pastel –
Saturday 3rd June & Sunday 4th June

Chinese Leopard pastel workshops
Chinese Leopard 2 day pastel workshop

This is a beautiful image and is full of colour and texture.  In this 2 day workshop you can really get your teeth into fur and textures on velour in pastel.

 

Click the images to see the full course outlines.

Workshops coming soon! Adventures in Abstract

If detail is not your thing or if you just want to loosen up or learn more about the principles & elements of design then this new workshop could be for you.

I’m currently creating some great activities and exercises and hope to be able to launch the pilot workshop in late June / early July.

Abstract work is often misunderstood so many artists tend to steer clear, but its a fantastic way to play with colour, new techniques and mediums as well as exploring  the principles and elements of design.  Even if, like me, you love to produce detailed pieces, you might be surprised how an abstract workshop can improve your practise.

The workshops will be over 2 days and a range of mediums will be provided along with a blank canvas for your finished piece.

I will be running a pilot workshop at the reduced fee of £150 per person (for the 2 days) so email me if you’d like to be added to the list for that course.

Well that’s all for now

Hope to see some of you on the new Abstract workshop or one of the pastel sessions.

Jilly

Art Chat, Cats, Techniques, Tuition, Wildlife, Workshops

Chooks, New Studio and new workshops

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It’s got to that stage where I’m bursting out of my spare room studio and my workshops need a more permanent home! So that can mean only one thing – the chooks have to go!

We’ve had chooks for about 5 years now, but my art workshops are becoming so popular that I need a more permanent space.  Our garden room is a great space to work in, but it will be fab to be able to leave all of the art gear in place in a brand new purpose-built studio.

Coral chicken
Coral

I’m excited about the new studio, but will be sad to see our chickens go, especially since they have just started laying again.  Still they are off to a good home and will be well looked after.

 


New workshop dates for June

New pastel workshop dates have been added for June.

Scottish Wildcat pastel workshops
Scottish Wildcat pastel workshop

1 day Scottish Wildcat in pastel –
Monday 19th June

This is a great little piece to get started on if you are new to velour and everything is provided to take you step by step through working on velour.

Chinese Leopard pastel workshops
Chinese Leopard 2 day pastel workshop

2 day Chinese Leopard in pastel –
Saturday 3rd June & Sunday 4th June

This is a beautiful image and is full of colour and texture.  In this 2 day workshop you can really get your teeth into fur and textures on velour in pastel.

Click the images to see the full course outlines.

Coming soon! Adventures in Abstract

If detail is not your thing or if you just want to loosen up or learn more about the principles & elements of design then this new workshop could be for you.

I’m currently creating some great activities and exercises and hope to be able to launch the pilot workshop in late June / early July.

Abstract work is often misunderstood so many artists tend to steer clear, but its a fantastic way to play with colour, new techniques and mediums as well as exploring  the principles and elements of design.  Even if, like me, you love to produce detailed pieces, you might be surprised how an abstract workshop can improve your practise.

The workshops will be over 2 days and a range of mediums will be provided along with a blank canvas for your finished piece.

I will be running a pilot workshop at the reduced fee of £150 per person (for the 2 days) so email me if you’d like to be added to the list for that course.

Well that’s all for now

Hope to see some of you on the new Abstract workshop or one of the pastel sessions.

Jilly

Art Chat, Cats, Exhibitions, Shows, Step by step, Tuition, Wildlife, Workshops

Competition Artwork

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Every year I set out to be ready with artwork for the plethora of competitions that seem to all kick off at the beginning of the year. In reality only the advertising kicks off, but its enough to send me scurrying to my easel with a head full of ideas.
….and you guessed it every year I am painting like a maniac to make sure I have new work to show.
So here’s one I’ve just finished…

Tiger in pastel
A beautiful imposing beast of a tiger

I love Tigers, well I love all cats really, but Tigers are so colourful and look so regal.  This is from one of my own reference shots and not only is it a competition piece, but its the subject matter for my latest pastel workshop.

If you like the look of this chap and fancy learning how to re-create his likeness in pastel on velour, there are still workshop spaces available – but only 3 for 4th April.

For other dates click here to check the workshops page on the main website.

Pastels not your thing?….try airbrushing

There are not many courses available in the UK where Wildlife art is taught, so I decided to create my own. It’s not as complex as you might think – like anything, just takes a little practise to get to grips with a new tool.

If you fancy a taster session watch this space, the course outline will be available in the next couple of weeks.  In the meantime email me if you are interested.

Next competition piece is under way

So to give you a flavour of what you can do with an airbrush, here’s the start of the next competition piece.  This is sadly not my reference, but was downloaded from the Wildlife Reference  Photos for Artists site – a fab ref library for any artist.

It’s a beautiful shot from the very talented photographer Emanuel Keller.

Anyway progress so far looks like this:

The piece is approx17.5″ x 11″, acrylic on canvas.

I tape the canvas to the drawing board and transfer my sketch using  red graphite paper which is less prone to smudging.

Next I mask the Snow leopard using frisket mask so that I can concentrate on the background without worrying about keeping the main subject clean.

I gradually build up layers of texture and colour to create the rock face.  At this point I’m about ready to leave the rock face and start on the Snow Leopard.

Join me next time for more progress.

Take care

Jilly

 

Art Chat, Tuition, Wildlife, Workshops

Pastel workshops dates for 2016!

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Book a place on one of my pastel workshops  now for the first part of 2016 before all the spaces go!

Happy New Year everyone!  No doubt you have all started 2016 with a basket of New Year’s resolutions, so what about learning something new at one of my pastel workshops?

2016 is getting off to a cracking start with more new pastel workshops added to my list, but they are filling up fast.

Fancy getting to grips with some big cats in pastel, or even having a crack at a portrait of your own pet!

Once you have learned a few simple techniques, its easier than you think and you never know, you might have awoken an unknown talent.

Stress relief

Did you know that clinical research has proven that drawing and creative time can relive stress and even lower your blood pressure?

It’s not surprising, I’ve lost count of the number of times I have sat down to start a piece of work and found that the hours have flown by; its like waking from a creative nap.

Check out the dates confirmed so far for this year and treat yourself to a great creative day out- with tea, coffee or juice on tap,  a light lunch, plus a bit of stress relief thrown in!

Great value at only £95 (all materials included)

Click on Rufus here to find out more about my pastel workshops.

 

New pastel workshops announced
What a beautiful boy

See you soon

Jilly

Art Chat, Cats, Dogs, Domestic Animals, Step by step, Techniques, Tuition, Workshops

New workshop dates: Pet Portraits in pastel

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New Pet Portrait Pastel workshops scheduled!

Beautiful British Blue
Beautiful British Blue

I am now taking bookings for my next Pet Portraits in Pastel 1 day workshop:

  • Saturday 13th June 2015
    9:30 – 4:30
  • Light Lunch included
  • All materials and equipment provided
  • A fab art-packed day
  • Fab price! £95 per person

If you can’t make this date, then check out my other Art Workshop dates

Book early to avoid disappointment

Visit my website to make payment online or contact me directly to learn more

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Cats, Step by step, Techniques, Tuition, Workshops

New Big Cats 1 day Pastel workshop Saturday 30th May 2015

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Breaking news!

A beautiful pastel piece using one of my husband's (John) reference images
A beautiful pastel piece using one of my husband’s (John) reference images

I am now taking bookings for my next Big Cat 1 day workshop:

  • Saturday 30th May 2015
    9:30 – 4:30
  • Light Lunch included
  • All materials and equipment provided
  • A fab art-packed day

If you can’t make this date, then check out my other Art Workshop dates

Book early to avoid disappointment

Visit my website to make payment online

You are not allowed to view this page!

Tuition

Mephisto and friends

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This weekend I had the pleasure of a Vic Bearcroft tuition day.

There were 18 of us in total in a little village hall in Tollerton, Nottinghamshire – a small but perfectly formed group.

My reason for booking this day is that I wanted to ‘loosen up’ a little.  Plus I’m thinking of offering tuition myself and it was a good opportunity to check out the competition 🙂

Being a qualified trainer I firmly believe in continual learning.  No matter how long you’ve been at something there is always something new to learn and this weekend was no exception.

Our goal was to work on a portrait of Mephisto, a beautiful Cheetah from the Wildlife Heritage Foundation in Kent.

Vic ran through the tradional basics of defining shape and form through tone, before moving on to underpainting, strengthening the colour, adding the detail and finally adjusting the contrast to finish the picture.

All in all it was a great day and I met some lovely friendly people.

The gallery below give you an idea of what we got up to:

The piece was created on velour, which is my favourite medium – particularly for fur.  There are still many layers to go before the piece is completed, but I will eventually get to it.  William the Bengal kitten is my priority at the moment as he is my current commission, then I have one more piece to create for my penultimate college assignment.  More on that after William is completed, so watch this space…

Jilly